


Here For A Reason - Part 5

by LoveYourArtFriend



Series: Here For A Reason [5]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Chris Evans - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Romance, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 20:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18483994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveYourArtFriend/pseuds/LoveYourArtFriend





	Here For A Reason - Part 5

Tears streamed down your cheeks as you sat at the table after your meal. Steve poured out his soul to you and even though you briefly knew his history, it was very emotional hearing it directly from him. Everything from his sickly childhood, his mother, his transformation, his friends, his Peggy. He teared up while speaking about Bucky and fell silent after speaking about Peggy. He was riddled with guilt and self doubt as he second guessed almost every decision he made, then and now. Regret settled easily into his soul. A seventy year sleep was an unbelievable concept he was still dealing with, weighing heavily on his mind and in his heart. He craved companionship and found some solace with the Avengers, but still felt displaced, an old soul in modern times. Tony tried to get him out to mingle at his parties, Natasha tried to play matchmaker and even though he appreciated their efforts, it never truly felt right. He felt everyone saw him as Captain America, the hero who put everyone else before himself and never asked for anything in return. He needed someone who was willing to stand by his side, someone who would care for him as Steve Rogers, someone he could care for, someone he could love. He found it difficult to be the unshakeable pillar of heroism that people made him out to be when deep down, all he wanted was a pillar of his own to lean on.

You were a wreck, trying to supress the sobs that wanted to surface.

“And ever since Nick told me Peggy was still living, I make sure I visit her frequently in the nursing home. She’s all I have left. She knows who I am but once in a while she forgets, and I have to start over. It’s difficult to see her that way.” Steve’s face looked spent, drained and utterly exhausted. You wiped the tears from your face. “I’d like to take you to meet her sometime.’

Trying to contain your emotions, you replied, “I would never want to intrude on your private time with her.”

Steve’s face brightened a little bit and a smile curled one side of his lips. “She moved on after I was gone and she openly shares her family stories with me, shows me the pictures of her grandchildren. She’s constantly telling me that it’s my turn, that I’ve waited long enough.”

You sat for a second, regaining your composure before answering, “I’d like to go with you. It would be an honor to meet her.”

Steve reached his hand over to yours and held it tightly. You looked at him, concerned for his emotional state. “Are you okay?”

“I am. I’ve never shared that with anyone before.” A single tear rolled down your cheek and you hoped it was the last one. Steve leaned forward to wipe it away and kiss you. When he sat back he asked, “Now, about you...I know you haven’t told me everything.”

“Not entirely,” you admitted. “Well, like I mentioned at Tony’s party, I had a wonderful upbringing. My family is amazing and I always did well in school. When I enlisted in the Army, I worked my way up from Private 1 and 2 to Private First Class within my first three months. I was assisting my Colonel with strategic planning and they promoted me to Corporal Specialist. I then worked under three different Generals before the end of my first year. The first General retired, the second one took a leave as he was ill, and then General Griffin stepped in. He pushed me hard right from the beginning. I thought that was normal. About a month after I started working with him, I received a call at the field office. It was my Dad and he spoke for literally thirty seconds. He told me they were moving to Ireland to be closer to Mom’s relatives. If my tour brought me close enough to come see them, he said I would have to contact Nick and he would arrange everything since they were under his protection. Dad gave me a number to call when I was ready, told me he and Mom loved me and that was it. I had no time off during my four years away and I never got close enough to Ireland, so I never called.”

Steve’s face saddened as he held your hand tighter. “I didn’t have time to dwell on it, though. General Griffin kept me extremely busy and his superiors were pleased. We flew all over Europe and Asia… and I don’t like flying, by the way.” Steve laughed in amazement at that statement. “I served in many of the war-torn countries as both Specialist and as part of the front line ground troop. I worked like a dog to prove myself and I became the General’s right hand go-to person. When my four year contract expired, he was extremely disappointed when I decided not to renew.”

“Four years at that pace...you must have been exhausted,” Steve commented.

“I was ready to come back. I knew I would miss it, but I was ready. When I got home, it was only a couple of days until Nick called me directly, offering me a job at S.H.I.E.L.D. Like he said, he swore to my parents he would watch out for me, so I accepted the job, moved here and finally met my father’s friend. I don’t even know if Mom and Dad know where I’m at or if I’m still in the Army. It’s been hard for me to get the nerve to ask Nick about my parents when he has expectations of me. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t rest and I’m expected to do a specific job so if there’s no time, I have to put my parents aside for now.”

Steve took a moment to inhale deeply and rub your hand. “You see how we’re similar, don’t you,” he commented in a very low, knowing tone of voice.

“I do,” you whispered while nodding slowly.

Steve stood up and pulled you up with him. He wrapped his arms around your body and you did the same around his. You both stood there for what seemed like an eternity. It was in that embrace that you and Steve decided you needed each other, you belonged together...all without saying a word.

As the mood lightened, Steve took you all through the tower on the tour he promised. You were shocked at how much was actually housed in the complex, excited at some of the amenities like the pool you didn’t know existed and how nice the grounds were outside the building. Steve didn’t let you check in at the R&D lab as he knew Tony would reel you in and then you’d be trapped there until the wee hours of the morning. He insisted Tony or Bruce would text you if they had a breakthrough. You agreed and continued with your stroll through the grounds.

“Thank you for showing me around, Steve. I feel so much better putting a visual to the blueprint I’ve been looking at.”

“I figured you’d feel more comfortable once you knew where everything was.” Steve stopped his stroll and stood in front of you. He placed his hands on your shoulders and moved them slowly down your arms. He reached your hands and gave a sudden, perplexed look.

“What’s wrong?”

He held up your arm that used to house the cast and looked at you, puzzled. “Where did it go and why didn’t I notice it until now?”

You started to giggle. “Bruce cut it off this afternoon. He said it’s healing well and gave me a pressure cast to put on while I’m training for the next couple of weeks. Then Tony decided he could do better and gave me a less conspicuous one.”

“What do you mean?”

“The bracelet.” You pushed the tiny button and watched Steve’s face as the metal cast covered your arm.

“Woah!!”

“He said it’s as strong as his suits but doesn’t know if it’s bulletproof,” you chuckled.

“Well, let’s not test it while you’re wearing it.”

“That’s exactly what I said,” you exclaimed.

You both started to laugh and Steve pushed the tiny button on the bracelet to retract the cast. He held your arm up to his lips and gave it a kiss. “I can’t believe I’m just noticing this now.”

“I think we had more pressing issues we were dealing with earlier,” you smiled as Steve held your hand and continued your walk. Steve thought it would be nice to walk the neighborhood so, acting as your tour guide, he strolled with you for another hour or so, letting you take in the buildings surrounding the tower. But every time you crossed the street, your grip on Steve’s hand tightened as you recalled what happened the last time you attempted this feat. 

It was dark out and you admired the city lights as they lit up the streets as far as you could see. Making your way back to the tower, you told Steve you should probably turn in for the night, tomorrow might prove to be a busy day. He agreed and took you to your room. You turned your back to the door and Steve took both your hands, placing them around his waist. He wrapped his strong arms around you and stood there, holding you tight.

“Thank you,” you spoke, resting your head on his chest.

He knew what you meant, what you both went through tonight, what you mutually experienced.

“Thank _you_ , ‘f/n’.” He kissed the top of your head and you looked up, not breaching your embrace. He leaned down and touched his warm lips to yours. Pulling away slightly, he let his lips linger on yours as he breathed, “Good night, ‘f/n’.” He placed one more impression on your mouth, giving you something to take into your dreams.

“Good night, Steve.” You looked into his eyes and brought your hand up to his cheek. As you slowly slid your hand down to his strong jaw, you opened your door, removing your hand from his face and backing into your room for the evening.

~~~~~~

Bzzzzzz.

Bzzzzzz.

Your deep sleep was interrupted as you woke to a text on your phone. Reaching over and fumbling to find it on the nightstand, you held it close to your face, forgetting it would be extremely bright. “Ugh, it burns!” you stated out loud. Trying to focus in, you hit your messages button and found the culprit. 

NF: Meet me at 06:00, HQ Board Room.

“Oh yikes!” you exclaimed. “Duty calls.”

F/I L/I: Yes, Sir.

Glancing to the top corner of the phone, the time stated 5:21 a.m. 

“JARVIS, is Natasha back in the building?”

“She is in the elevator, Miss ‘l/n’.”

“Oh, thank God….and you, too, JARVIS.”

“It has been my pleasure, Miss ‘l/n’.”

You hopped out of bed and went down the hall to the elevator. A weary looking Agent Romanoff stepped off, backpack over her shoulder. She saw you and smiled. Without hesitation, you wrapped your arms around her. “Welcome back, now go to bed. We’ll catch up later.”

“You’re so sweet, ‘f/n’. Thank you. Good night, morning, whatever it is,” she waved her arm around as she shuffled down the hall to her room and closed the door. 

You proceeded to the kitchen to steal another granola bar and glass of juice, taking it to your room as you washed up. This time, remembering to eat the granola bar first after brushing your teeth. 

~~~~~~

“Good morning, Sir.”

“Agent ‘l/n’, come in,” he opened his arm to a chair at the large table, inviting you to sit and ready yourself at a laptop. “How have you been feeling?”

“Good, Sir. Thank you.”

Following into the room behind you was Agent Hill.

“Good morning, Sir. Good morning, ‘f/n’.”

“Agent Hill,” Fury nodded and offered her a seat beside you.

“Good morning, Maria. How are you?”

“Good...how have you been feeling?”

“Very well, thank you.”

“Ready for this, ‘f/n’?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Agent Romanoff returned this morning and we need to figure out what the Hell is going on.” Fury handed you the data drive and you inserted it into the laptop. It projected onto one of four large screens on the wall and Nick sat in the chair on the other side of you. You shared the data access with Maria and as you chose a file, an encryption warning came up. You typed feverishly trying to find the right encryption program to unlock the file and when you did, ‘ACCESS GRANTED’ confirmed entry. Choosing the first file, data streamed across the screen. 

“Looks like transport logs,” Maria spoke. “I’ll try and figure out the source.” She logged in to the second screen and tried to cross reference with the S.H.I.E.L.D. database.

Fury watched but didn’t say a word and let the two of you do what you needed to.

You opened another file and a bunch of coordinates appeared. 

“Can you map that info?” Fury asked.

“Yes, Sir.” You grouped the coordinates and a map of Asia appeared on the big screen. A few seconds later, little red dots started to appear sporadically. “Oh my God!” You covered your hands over your mouth and slumped back in your chair. 

“Sir, there are too many locations for S.H.I.E.L.D to take down alone,” Maria stated.

Fury stood from his chair and bolted for the door with his phone in hand. “I’m on it.”

You started entering a formula to capture the EMP hot spots from the original location that Nat had infiltrated. You turned your focus back to the map. The dots spread from Western Turkey into Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. There had to be close to a dozen locations. You prioritized the strongest pulse waves down to the weakest and cross referenced with satellite images from the data drive. 

Maria was trying to sort her file comprised of flight plans and cargo transport logs.

“Anything on the originator?” you asked.

“Nothing, it’s really strange. I’ve got the logs grouped for you, though.”

“Thank you.” When you merged the information together with your EMP data, all the logs and flights matched. You decided to throw it up on the fourth screen, your stomach churning when you saw the carnage. “Maria, look!”

“Oh, shit,” she commented. “This is going to be a dog’s breakfast.”

You and Maria worked for at least an hour before Fury walked back into the room.

“What can you tell me?” He asked of you both.

“Well, Sir,” you started as you got up and walked over to the screens. “We’ve got nine locations to deal with. It looks like the hub here in the Turkish mountains is receiving weapons from Izmit, east of Istanbul. Maria found the transport logs, detailing caravan deliveries into the mountains during the night. From what we can tell, there are infantry weapons and short range missiles being transported. The logs showed flights into Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. We located topical airstrips in these small, barren areas in Iran and Afghanistan. Both primary locations have smaller satellites where the weapons are being transported by truck.”

“If your intel confirmed these are American weapons, Sir, we haven’t deciphered the source or how Istanbul got them in the first place.”

Fury looked over at Maria. “Sir, the Turkish hub is almost like a scrambled loop. I’m trying to run double encryption programs to figure it out, but the hubs in Iran and Afghanistan are complete. They each have their own originating signature that filters out to their satellite locations.” 

“Keep on it,” Fury stated.

“Yes, Sir,” Maria replied.

“Sir, I’ll need to know what you’re thinking before I can help work up a plan.” 

A knock came to the door. “Here’s part of my plan, now,” Fury stated as he walked toward the door. “Come in, Colonel.”

“Colonel!” Maria greeted.

“Good Morning Agent Hill.”

You stood from your chair as Fury walked closer to you. “Agent ‘l/n’, I’d like you to meet Colonel James Rhodes. Colonel Rhodes, Agent ‘l/n’.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir.” You saluted then held out your hand to offer a handshake.

“Agent ‘l/n’, it’s nice to finally put a face to the name. Congratulations on a very successful tour. Your reputation as Specialist precedes you.”

“Thank you, Sir,” you blushed but tried to hold your serious composure.

“Colonel Rhodes has offered his soldiers and pilots so he’s here to assist in planning.”

“Will you _personally_ be assisting us, Sir?” You looked at Rhodes with an eyebrow lifted. You knew who he was, and with your look, he acknowledged that fact immediately.

“Yes, I will. I never pass up the chance to kick some butt,” he smiled and winked at you.

“Thank you, Sir,” you smiled back.

“All right, so what have you got for me?”

You led him over to the screens and explained everything that you brought to Fury’s attention. He was shocked at the sheer size of this operation. The four of you sat for hours trying to hash out this mess. You gathered the satellite imagery of the locations from Maria’s data, working your knowledge on the schematics of the buildings and determining what locations were manned. You thought Fury’s decision about the coordinated recovery and takedown was risky although it couldn’t be implemented any other way. Colonel Rhodes’ help with the Air Force was a crucial part of the whole plan. You needed all the flight power you could get to make this mission successful.

“Someone call for takeout?” an indisputable voice came from the doorway.

You tilted your head back and praised God for the most welcome interruption as you were starving.

In walked Tony with the remainder of the team, all carrying food and beverages to feed the masses.

Maria stood up and stretched while Natasha came over to give her a hug. You thought she looked pretty rested for what little sleep she probably got.

“Hey, kiddo. How’s it going?” Tony asked you as he placed his food bags beside you.

“Good, although I could use a drink,” you chuckled, helping him unpack the food.

“That’s my girl,” he smiled. He turned to acknowledge Rhodes, giving him a hug. “Buddy, if you’re here, this must be big.” 

“It is, Tony,” Rhodes nodded.

Steve walked over and rubbed your arm. It sent shivers through you as your tired eyes looked up at him. “I missed you this morning. Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, it’s been a little intense in here but I’m confident we’ve got this all worked out.” 

Within moments, everyone had a plate of food and were all seated around the table.

“Alright boys and girls, this isn’t a Stark party,” Fury chimed in. 

“Hey,” Tony scowled.

“I need all eyes on me.” The room silenced as Fury began explaining the harsh reality of the mission to come.

“This is not your typical mission. I don’t want my team spread out all over Asia but we may have to divide to conquer. We have American weapons floating around multiple locations,” he pointed at the screens and went on to describe the issue at hand. “The data Agent Romanoff retrieved shows it flows out of the initial Turkish hub, so we’re going to start from the outside and work our way back. Starting with the satellite locations, our S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will sweep them, Colonel Rhodes’ soldiers will seize the weapons and we’ll destroy the sites once the loads are clear. Agent ‘l/n’ has compiled the schematics for all the buildings. Most of them are typical bunkers but once we’re closer, we’ll use heat signatures to determine the amount of manpower in there. I want all weapons confiscated with no retaliation, but we need to keep our eyes on the civilian population. Some of these locations are close to villages…..probably on purpose. This sneaky bastard really doesn’t want to be found as Agent Hill is _still_ trying to decode the source.” Fury paused and looked around the room at his team. “Any questions?” The room was silent. “I have to brief our agents and Colonel Rhodes has to brief his troops so I want everyone on the helicarrier in two hours.”

“Sir, here’s your briefing file.”

“Thank you, Agent ‘l/n’,” Fury took your paperwork and headed toward the door. Before he stepped out, he turned back looking at you and said, “And you’re with me on that carrier, ‘l/n’.” With that, he turned and left.

You stood in shock at what Fury said then scanned your eyes around the room. Everyone’s gaze was locked on you, wondering if you were going to take a breath. Tony stood up and walked over to you, putting his arm around your shoulder. “Aww, ‘f/n’s’ first field trip.” 

Slowly the team filtered out to go pack their belongings. Nat walked up to you and said, “Don’t forget your training gear. We’ll have plenty of time to workout on the carrier. Hey!” she exclaimed, noticing your arm. “Where’s your cast?” You showed her the bracelet and pushed the button. Her eyes lit up when it ‘Starkified’ your arm. “You realize you just bumped up to the next level of training,” she chuckled and walked out.

Bruce walked by you stating, “Fury asked if you were ready for all this and I agreed you were.”

“Oh, so you’re the one to blame,” you frowned, but shortly after smiled so as not to make Bruce feel bad.

“F/n, remember, the carrier is fully prepped so I’ll just see you later,” Maria smiled as she walked out.

“Thanks, Maria.” You and Steve were the last remaining in the room. He still sat in his seat, looking over the mission plans you put together. You started to gather your paperwork and put it back in the folders. Steve looked over and noticed your hands were shaking.

Placing his hand over yours, he held it tight. “Are you okay?”

“I think I just got nervous,” you smiled.

“You have nothing to be nervous about, ‘f/n’. Your work is very impressive. I’ve said it before, you’re so good at what you do. Whatever Fury has you doing on board with us, you’re going to be great. He needs you. He brought you here for a reason, remember?” You nodded your head in agreement. “Come on, let’s go pack.”

~~~~~~

You stood among the pile of boxes in your room, pulling clothing from them and loading up your duffle bag. You were still kicking yourself for not doing your laundry because you’ll be pretty desperate to find something clean when you get back. A knock came to your door and you knew it was Steve, ready to take you back to HQ. As you opened the door, you were taken aback by Steve’s bright smile. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” you smiled as you flung your duffle over your shoulder and turned your light out. You looked up at Steve and asked, “Why are you so smiley?”

He grabbed your hand as you headed to the elevator. “Well, before Nat left, she told me that she missed working out with you and after seeing your ‘Stark cast,’ she’s bumping you up to the next training level. She looked pretty excited about it.”

“Excited? Oh God, that means she’s coming after me, full force.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Then why are you smiling ear to ear?”

“Because,” he leaned in for a quick kiss, “I can’t wait to watch.”

~~~~~~

You walked the catwalk up to the helicarrier and your face was in shock, just like the first time. Steve noticed how lit up you were. “It never gets old!”

As you made your way to the living quarters, Natasha found you and put her arm around your shoulder. “Rogers...a moment,” came Fury’s voice from behind you. Steve turned back and Natasha led you to your door.

“We’re going to the gym,” she smiled. You scanned your ID at your door and plopped your duffle just inside before turning to her and reluctantly agreeing. The two of you walked around the corner and into the gym, heading over to the sparring area and perusing the weapons. There were various sizes of knives, all heavy with heavy, rubber blades. There were sticks and an assortment of weapons to throw at one another. You both took a few moments to stretch out then place what weapons you could on your belts. Other than that, it would be a free-for-all sparring match.

You barely clicked the last knife into your belt when Nat pushed you. “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be!” you stated. You quickly grabbed a knife from your belt and whipped your right arm around to slash across her neck. She blocked the swing, grabbed your arm and tried to flip you on your back. You flipped, but landed on your feet then crouching down, tried to swing your leg under her, causing her to fall. She flipped herself back up and landed on her feet. You got up and ran to the other side of the punching bag. At that moment, Steve entered the gym with his duffle bag and shield in hand. He was excited to see how this would play out and quickly made his way to the bench press to sit and watch, putting his belongings on the ground in front of him. You saw him from the corner of your eye. Nat ran after you to the punching bag and you quickly turned, trying to kick her in the hip. She pushed the punching bag at you and you ended up hitting it. She swiped at your leg but you pulled it in and rolled. Bouncing back up, you noticed the bag starting to swing back and in one leap, you pulled yourself off the ground and kicked the bag with two feet toward her. It hit her but she back flipped and braced herself to come after you again. Steve watched in amazement. He couldn’t believe how you held your own against Natasha. She whipped a knife at you and you instinctively put your left arm up to block. The knife ricocheted off your metal cast with a loud ping. It redirected and lodged itself in the punching bag. You went to pull it out and Nat charged the bag. You went to throw the knife back at her and she lunged for your midsection. The knife flew past her and you braced yourself, bringing your cast up and backhanding her. The impact was hard as it catapulted Natasha backward into the wall. Running toward her, she leaped out of the way, causing you to climb and flip off the wall. 

The two of you were punching, blocking, jumping, grabbing, tripping, flipping and throwing things at each other. This went on for another twenty minutes and Steve could tell you were both trying desperately to find a way to end it. Natasha came at you and you expected her to jump and kick you in the face. To your surprise, she ducked and slid under you, taking your legs out from underneath. You both got up quickly and she chased you back toward the sparring weapons. You grabbed a chakra as you ran by and twisted yourself into a leap. With great effort, you wheeled the chakra at her chest and she slid to avoid its contact. She grabbed what looked like a grenade from the bottom of the sparring rack, something you didn’t see there initially. She pulled the pin and watched you run toward Steve. She released the grenade in your direction and you knew you only had seconds left. You bolted with every fiber in your body and smashed your foot down on the turned up rim of Steve’s shield. It flipped up into your hands and in one fluid motion, you turned and scooped the grenade from the air with the underside of the shield and slammed it to the ground to seal the blast. You heard a faint bang come from underneath and with a heavy breath, you collapsed on top of the shield then slowly rolled to your side. Your eyes caught Nat walking slowly over to you, offering her hand to help you up. Steve looked on in astonishment. 

“That was unbelievable! Are you two alright?” 

You looked up at Steve and suddenly panicked. “Oh my God!” You reached back and picked up his shield. On the ground underneath were broken remnants of the grenade and a blue powder everywhere. It was a pop grenade for training and it made a mess on the ground and underside of the shield. “Oh, I am so sorry. I just grabbed it on instinct. I will clean that up.”

Steve laughed, “It’s quite alright. You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. I took it, I’ll clean it.” You turned to Nat, “You’re evil!” The two of you started to laugh.

“That cast is wicked! How does your arm feel?” She asked.

“It feels totally fine. I like this cast, I think I'll keep it,” you chuckled

“I think it's perfect for you,” Nat commented. “Dinner is in thirty, see you at Mess Hall then we'll head to the firing range.” 

“Sounds good, see you,” you replied to Nat. Turning to Steve you stated, “I’ll be back with your shield. Enjoy your workout. I need a hot shower before I stiffen up.”

“I'll walk you back to your room.”

“What about your workout?” you looked confused.

Steve blushed and admitted he was only there to watch. “Fury asked me to see if you're ready for the field.” You looked up at him, questioningly. “You are,” he reassured. Grinning, and blushing, you turned to walk out, shield in your hand, still huffing and puffing. Steve watched you intently, admiring how is shield looked alongside you, how you glowed after that intense workout. He grabbed his duffle and jogged up alongside you. Taking your hand in his, he proudly walked you back to your quarters.

~~~~~~

Ahh, the good old days….Mess Hall…..only fancier. You all came together for dinner and just like at Tony’s party, the conversations and laughter filled the room. Nat and Steve were telling Clint, Sam and Thor about the sparring match with you, while you were having an in-depth conversation with Tony and Bruce about the project you left in their hands. The two of them had made some promising findings so Bruce was going to continue the research on board. 

You felt a nudge on your arm and turned your attention to Thor beside you. “I wish I would have seen this sparring match Natasha is raving about.” You felt everyone’s eyes on you so you quickly put your head down and blushed. “She said you are a stellar soldier….but,” he grinned devilishly, “how did you get Rogers’ shield clean?”

You looked straight up to the ceiling and felt the heated red blotches creep up your neck. You put your hand on his shoulder and quickly stood to clear your dishes. With the biggest smile you could muster and not being able to contain yourself any longer, you blurted out, “I took it in the shower with me.”

Everyone erupted in laughter as they started to follow suit with you, clearing away their dishes. You didn’t even want to look back at Steve, knowing he was probably the same shade of red as you. Natasha put her hand on your shoulder and in between gasps of air, she said to meet her at the firing range. You nodded and proceeded toward the exit. Sam came up to you, wiping tears from his cheeks. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard, ‘f/n’.” He gave you a quick hug and went to put his dishes at the counter. You were all walking out as a group when Steve grabbed your wrist and pulled you back. You were afraid you embarrassed him and it probably didn’t sit well. He stood there with a funny smirk on his face.

“I’m sorry, Steve. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” You looked down at his hand hanging on to yours, “but I did say I’d clean it.” You sheepishly raised your eyes to his, being sure you had a cute smile on your face so he didn’t get angry.

His smirk grew to a big smile as he brought you into a hug. With his lips near your ear, he hesitantly kissed your lobe then released a cheeky whisper, “so my shield in your shower, huh!”

“Oh my god!” you face planted into his chest, laughing and dying of embarrassment at the same time. “It was the easiest way I could think of to get it clean, quickly.”

He started to laugh and the movement of his chest set your mind at ease that he wasn’t upset. “It _was_ pretty funny,” he added. You pulled away from his chest and took his hand in yours. “Let’s get you to the firing range.”

~~~~~~

Your forty minutes at the firing range proved to be quite productive. Natasha was, of course, testing you. It had been weeks since you held a gun but it all came flooding back once she put one in your hand. Steve stood in the hallway, looking through the window and watched as each full-body target was hit at the innermost circle and each time. Nat shouted a location, you put it where she wanted it. She knew pretty quickly that you were still a strong shooter. When you were putting your equipment away, you let out a huge sigh. “Are you okay, she asked?”

“Yeah, just some mixed emotions right now….excitement and nerves.”

“Totally normal ‘f/n’, but from what I’ve seen from you, you click into high gear pretty quick. You’re going to do just fine.” She gave you a quick hug.

“Thanks, Nat. You’re a great mentor.”

The two of you walked into the hallway and Fury was standing with Steve. “Agent ‘l/n’!”

“See you later, Nat,” you put your hand on her arm as you parted. “Yes, Sir.” You approached both men, looking at the stern faces they both put forth. It was unnerving to see them like that but you still stood before them, eyes wide and waiting.

Fury kept your gaze and started to speak. “I’ve trusted this team to keep their eyes on you, train you, help you fit in. Now don’t forget, I know what you’re capable of, Agent ‘l/n’.” Good thing your hands were behind your back because you started to fidget. “Apparently, you’ve exceeded their expectations. For God’s sake, they gush about how they really like you.” The corner of your mouth slightly curled up but you didn’t want to rush a full blown smile. “Your mission planning and and close work with Stark and Dr. Banner have proven to me that I made the right choice assigning you to this team.” 

Your smile was now starting to creep upward. “Thank you, Sir.”

“Don’t thank me, Agent ‘l/n’. Just keep doing what you’re doing.” He put his hand on your shoulder and walked past you, down the hall and out of sight. You stood there in shock for a moment until Steve’s words brought you back to reality.

“That’s as close to a compliment as you’ll probably get from Nick,” he said as he ran his hand down your arm.

You turned your head back toward Steve. “I don’t know what to say,” you spoke softly, wrapping your arms around his waist. He reciprocated by holding you close.

“‘F/n’, everything you’ve done has not gone unnoticed.” 

You let out a large breath. “Thank you, Steve.” 

You looked up and stared into Steve’s crystal blue eyes. His hands found a new home, nestled on your waist. This man knew how to melt you. He was very good at it. You craved his kiss and he had no trouble caressing his soft lips against yours. His warmth lingered as your hands crept up Steve’s arms, resting around the collar of his shirt. Neither of you wanted this to subside but knew it had to, eventually. Steve pulled away, slowly, following up with a couple smaller kisses. You closed your eyes again and held each other for a while. A nice way to end your day before heading into a new mission in the morning.


End file.
